Faculty Minor Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Ambitious and intensive minor programme in English for bachelor students (incl. exchange students) of:

• Faculty of Economics and Business
• BSc Industrial Engineering & Management (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

Why choose this minor?

In an era defined by rapid technological advances and growing environmental and social challenges, innovation is not just a strategy but a necessity for survival and sustainable growth. Innovative entrepreneurs, whether setting up new companies or in the context of larger, established firms, are needed to recognize new opportunities. They are also needed to challenge the existing order of businesses, by meeting (societal) needs that have not been fulfilled yet.

This minor is crafted for those who aspire to be at the forefront of creating impactful, innovative solutions that not only address market needs but also contribute to societal well-being and environmental sustainability. You may want to know more about the process of innovation and entrepreneurship, and the development of new markets or new businesses in existing markets. Or you may want to assess the feasibility of your own business idea. Or you simply feel that your personal development and future career will benefit from innovative and entrepreneurial competencies.

In all these cases, the minor Innovation & Entrepreneurship is the right choice for you!

What will you learn?

The minor Innovation & Entrepreneurship will provide you with insights in the process of new venture creation, from both a theoretical and practical point of view. To that end, the minor will focus on several core themes, for example: how to create, discover and evaluate entrepreneurial opportunities, and how to develop a fitting business model for that opportunity.

In the minor, you will also discuss some special forms of entrepreneurship, like high tech entrepreneurship, and service-based entrepreneurship. Furthermore, you will discuss how knowledge is protected or shared openly, how relations are developed in the network of value creation, and how this leads to new ventures.  

All in all, you will learn core concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship, based on state-of-the-art academic and practice-oriented literature. Also, you will be able to apply these concepts to realistic business cases. Finally, you will understand the elements of the entrepreneurial process and will be able to adapt them to a variety of business contexts (for example the focus areas of the University of Groningen: Energy Transition and Climate Change, Healthy Society, and Future Prosperity and Sustainability).

What does the programme look like?

The minor Innovation & Entrepreneurship is offered by the Faculty of Economics and Business. The programme is comprised of 4 courses (each 5 ECTS) on theory and methods of innovation and entrepreneurship, and a project course of 10 ECTS.

In the project course, you will develop a scientifically well-founded solution to a practical business development challenge, together with the students of the (university) minor Entrepreneurship. Together with these students, you will work in multidisciplinary project groups. The source of your group's business development challenge could be your own entrepreneurial idea, but also an opportunity delivered by an existing company.

You can find an overview of the programme below.

Who can participate?

The minor Innovation & Entrepreneurship is offered to a limited number of bachelor students (incl. exchange students) of the Faculty of Economics and Business, and the BSc. Industrial Engineering & Management, who completed their propaedeutics. All other bachelor students of the University of Groningen are referred to the (university) minor Entrepreneurship.

a) Students of the Faculty of Economics and Business (incl. exchange students) can only take the full minor programme of 30 ECTS. Whether the minor can be taken as part of the regular curriculum, varies per bachelor programme. Your programme's study advisor can tell you more about your specific situation.

Students of the following bachelor programmes can take the minor in Innovation & Entrepreneurship as part of their regular curriculum:

• BSc. Business Administration (profiles Business & Management / Technology Management only)

• BSc. Economics and Business Economics

• BSc. Econometrics and Operations Research

For all other FEB-students, the minor will be extra curricular.

b) Students of the BSc. Industrial Engineering & Management are allowed to take a programme of 25 ECTS, consisting of the courses Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Marketing and Technology-based Offerings in semester 1a (15 ECTS), and Entrepreneurship Project in semester 1b (10 ECTS). Your programme's study advisor can tell you more about your specific situation.

How to apply?

As this minor program is often described as ambitious and intensive, the final selection for the minor is based on a letter of motivation (including a resumé) that needs to be submitted to the coordinator of the minor via the button below. Make sure to submit your application before, but no later than the 7th of July of the academic year before the academic year in which you want to do the minor. After being selected for the minor, you will be automatically enrolled for the relevant courses of the minor in Progress.

More information?

Please contact the coordinator of the minor, Simon Fokkema (t.s.fokkema@rug.nl).